Harp Consort Trips the Baroque Fantastic in Versatile Display

Like a sumptuous tapestry shot through with color and texture, the Harp Consort transported its listeners back in time with lush, light-infused sounds at the Ebell Club of Los Angeles Tuesday.

Directed by harpist Andrew Lawrence-King, the sextet of early music artists presented a rich program of Renaissance and Baroque court music, laced with dance, historical narration and virtuosic playing.

The evening contained works from “Luz y Norte,” a repertory collected by the 17th century Spanish aristocrat Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz.

Lawrence-King, playing the double Spanish harp, has a pure, sweet tone and is capable of moving from languid to majestic with the flick of a wrist.

Indeed, the melodies, at times, seemed to hang in the air, suspended by the room’s great acoustics under the gold-leaf ceiling.

Extremely tight-knit, the group also boasts a high degree of versatility: Lee Santana’s theorbo (long-necked lute) playing shone in A. Picinnini’s Toccata; Hille Perl brought plaintive emotion and intelligence in her viola da gamba and lirone handiwork while mezzo-soprano Liliana Mazzarri animated “La purpura de la rosa” with precise ornamentation.

Period guitars also added to the wealth of stringed-instrument shadings on display.

An improvisatory spirit elevated the evening: Michael Metzler’s percussion was crisp and propulsive; and, when Steve Player wasn’t fingering a guitar, he used the small stage to strut a combination of flamenco footwork with Irish step-dancing.

Contemporary and authentic, the Harp Consort helps keep alive a distant past.